i decided to reread kate chopin's the awakening for banned book week. i came across it while sharing a link to the american library association list of banned/challenged classics. i have a huge tbr pile right now and decided the awakening would be a fast read, so i decided to squeeze it for banned books week.
i read the awakening in college. i think it was for a women's studies course. however, i didn't remember much from it other than the protagonist drowned herself in the sea over a lover.
i hate to say this considering the awakening is an example of early feminist writing, but i did not enjoy the story. the issue i had with edna, was the same issues that i had with anna karenina. i just can not sympathize with women that abandon their duties as a mother. i also can not tolerate women who abandon their duties as wife via infidelity. in the awakening, edna abandoned her husband and children because she fell in love with another man, robert. also, robert unleashed all of her inner desires which resulted in her having another affair with a different gentleman. if edna was single, i would be in full support of her multiple lovers but the fact that she was a mother and a wife caused my dislike of her.
i am normally in support of women not being restricted by gender roles, however, when you decide to become a mother or a wife, there are basic duties that you agree to by assuming these roles. so for the most part you must meet the most basic duties, care for your children and care for your husband. there is flexibility within these roles ie women should not be restrict to the realm of the home, but if you can't handle that you shouldn't have assumed the role in the first place. and i know that i am writing this as a 20th/21st century woman, and it is easy for me to critique because i have the freedom to choose when i want to be a mother or a wife, but i can not sympathize with women who abandon their families, past or present. it is selfish versus feminist.
before i go on, so i don't sound completely ignorant, i do realize that at the time chopin was writing, women had only one option in life, marriage. most women married for financial stability versus actual love and most women did not have a choice when it came to marriage, so many women found themselves in the same situation as edna. so for that reason i do admire this work for addressing an experience that women encountered but could not discuss. and to be perfectly honest, if i was in her situation in that time and place, i am not sure what i would have done. but suicide seems extreme, i mean both edna and anna karenina decided to kill themselves then lead a life without love, which sounds brave but is actually cowardly, especially considering that they had children. i seen no romance in leaving your children motherless. i guess chopin wanted to demonstrate how women in these situations have no real options, and rather then life a lie, some women wished for death.
it all seems bleak but it is tough being a women, especially due to the expectations that society places on us. and i guess i should be sympathetic toward edna because she wasn't the mothering type yet became a mother out of society's expectations. and i can not hate her for that, some people just don't have a mothering instinct. okay, maybe i was a little two harsh on edna earlier, but in my defense, it's difficult to seperate my modern mind from the historical context, especially considering how women issues are pretty much the same throughout all of history.
for me, personally, it comes down to the fact that i believe women should not be restricted by their gender, we should do what feels natural to us. yet, at the same time, i am old-fashioned and conservative when it comes to marriage and motherhood. to me, marriage vows should be upheld, one should keep the promises that they have made. and i know that people fall out of love, and sometimes the person your married changes, or you change, life happens. i am fine with divorce, but i think once you start to feel uncertain about your marriage, you should discuss it with your partner versus cheat. i know edna didn't really have this option but i hope a modern day work like this would have the protagonist going that route.
and though i do not agree with the infidelity, i must praise chopin for writing about female sexuality. though i wish edna's awakening came before marriage rather than after but it could have never really been the other way. the sad truth is that women are expected to be the virgin bride, especially back then. it is also unfortunate that edna's husband did not awaken her. but this work is important for women to read (then and now), so that they can see that it is fine to be a sexual person, that you are not abnormal for desiring sex.
i was raised mormon and though i planned on saving myself for marriage as the church instructed, i must admit that i saw nothing wrong with masturbating though i should have according to the church. i have no idea where i got the notion that masturbation was okay, maybe it was from the novels (the perks of being a wallflower mentioned masturbation) and the teen magazines i read. one of my friends and i openly discussed masturbation and i remember encouraging other friends to explore, not by in a "let's have a circle jerk" way, but in a "hey, don't be ashamed to explore your body" way. sorry, i just got really honest. but i guess i am demonstrating how i could have been edna in this modern day. i am not saying that the standards of the church are wrong, teens should not have sex lives, but their sexuality shouldn't be denied. i mean i didn't grow up to be this sex-crazed slut because i masturbated in high school. and even if i did, oh well, it is my body.
wow. this post kind of went all over the place, but there is a lot of layers to the awakening. it simply as a story was not for me, i did not sympathize with edna. however, the issues of motherhood, gender roles, and sexuality that arose from it were important for me to contemplate. i think the later reason is why this book was banned. it awoken in people the idea that not all women fit into the mold deemed appropriate by society. for this, and it's feminist significance, the awakening is a must read for every woman . . . and every man too!
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